


cause i only wanna lift you up

by disasterboy



Category: Waterparks (Band)
Genre: Comfort/Angst, First Meetings, Light Angst, M/M, Multi, Non-Verbal Character, Polyamory, Wingfic, Wings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:08:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28342920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/disasterboy/pseuds/disasterboy
Summary: Geoff's Christmas Eve gets interrupted.
Relationships: Awsten Knight/Geoff Wigington/Otto Wood, Awsten Knight/Otto Wood
Comments: 10
Kudos: 27





	cause i only wanna lift you up

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Branithar](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Branithar/gifts).



> why does maxx always end up working for the evil government lab in my stories?

Someone was knocking on his front door, loudly enough that it drowned out the sounds of the movie Geoff had been watching. Normally this wouldn't have phased Geoff, but it was 10 pm on Christmas Eve, and nobody had texted or called him in advance to let him know they were coming. He quickly glanced over to the corner next to the front door to check if his baseball bat was still in place before pausing his movie and slowly advancing. When he peered through the peephole, however, he only saw feathers.

"What the..."

Drowning out the small part of his brain that was telling him to ignore whoever (or whatever) it was and go to bed, Geoff pulled open the heavy oak door. Instead of some giant bird creature, there were two young men standing on his doormat, wearing nothing but hospital gowns and strange feather boas that were decorated in shades of brown and tan. They were shivering from the cold, and the mix of snow and rain that had been falling for hours certainly didn't help as it pelted their exposed skin.

Geoff would be lying if he said he didn't immediately usher them inside.

"What are you two _doing_? Didn't you see the forecast, oh my _God_ , I don't even know who you are and I know that you're both _fucking idiots_ -"

The strangers looked shocked at his ranting, and neither of them spoke as Geoff rushed around his house as he scolded them. He brought out towels for them, then went to get clean and warm clothes while they were drying off, and finally directed them to the bathroom so that they could change while he heated up some coffee. When the coffee was done, he filled up three mugs and went off in search of his new guests.

His mom would have killed him twice over by now if she knew he had not only welcomed in two strange boys but had made coffee for them and had given them his clothes as well. The "stranger danger" talks must not have sunk is as much as he thought they had when he was little.

The door to the bathroom was still open when he approached, and Geoff caught sight of strong muscles and scars before he turned away and told them that he would be waiting in the living room. He was more concerned, however, about the feather boas that they still had on than he was about the many, many scars. Why were they so attached to them? What was the purpose? Where had they come from that supplied feather boas alongside hospital gowns?

When the two strangers walked back out into the living room, he saw that they weren't actually feather boas. Geoff stood slack-jawed as he finally got a good look at the two sets of wings and the boys they were attached to. One of them was tall (though not as tall as Geoff was) and slender, while the other was shorter and more muscular. The taller one had short light brown hair that ended just past his ears, and the shorter one had curly darker hair that reached his mid-chest. The curly-haired one's wings were near-white with brown spots on the inside, but from what Geoff could see they were a mix of tan and dark brown on the outside. The other boy's wings were nearly the same size, but his were lighter in color and were softer and more rounded than his companion's. There were patches where feathers had obviously been pulled out, and the wings themselves were dirty and messy, but they were still beautiful in every sense of the word.

"Oh," Geoff whispered. Neither of the strangers said anything, but they seemed to be fidgeting under Geoff's gaze.

"Oh, right. I made you coffee."

Geoff held out his hands, each one containing a mug. The strangers warily took the offered coffee, but they didn't drink it. Instead, they simply held their mugs close to their chests, probably trying to warm up their fingers. Geoff noticed that they had neglected to put on shirts, and dimly he realized that they probably would have had trouble getting them on past their wings. Geoff didn't want them to be cold, though, so ran off to his long-forgotten linen closet, returning with two of the thickest blankets he could find.

"Uh, so... do you guys have names?" Geoff asked as he traded the strangers' coffee for the blankets.

"I'm Awsten, and this is Otto," the taller one answered. His friend's wings fluttered at the sound of his own name, and then his wings disappeared as he tucked them closer to his body in order to fit the blanket around his broad shoulders. Awsten did the same, and Geoff set the now-discarded mugs of coffee on the small coffee table in front of the couch. He'd have to pour those back into the pot later; he wasn't about to waste perfectly good coffee.

"I'm Geoff. It's nice to meet you, and I hate to sound rude, but can you explain what you're doing at my house?"

"Maxx sent us," Awsten answered, as if his explanation made sense to Geoff.

"Wait, Maxx Danziger?" Geoff asked. Awsten nodded, and Geoff only grew more confused. "How do you know Maxx?"

"He worked in the place where we were being held, and he helped us escape. He gave us directions to here and said you'd help keep us safe. He also said you're very nice and sweet, and would probably try to take care of us as soon as we got here."

Geoff was going to ignore Maxx's accurate prediction of how their meeting had ended up. Something wasn't adding up, though. Geoff took a sip of coffee before continuing his questioning.

"Maxx is a photographer, and he works from his home all the way in Florida. Where exactly were you being held?"

Awsten immediately clamped his mouth shut. Geoff realized he had brushed on a sensitive topic, so Geoff made a mental note to call Maxx tomorrow morning and changed the subject.

"Did Maxx mention how long you would be staying? Like, should I only expect you for the night, or...?"

"I... don't know. He didn't really say, but I assume it'll be until it's safe enough for him to move us," Awsten admitted. 

"Well, I guess I won't be lonely for a few days, at least," Geoff laughed after a few moments of silence. "You're both welcome to stay for as long as you need."

This brightened Awsten's mood, and even Otto smiled gratefully. Otto had been silent for the entire conversation; however, when Geoff opened his mouth to try and loop him in, he noticed that his torso wasn't the only part of his body that held scary-looking scars.

"Oh, uh... Otto can't talk," Awsten said, almost as if he had read Geoff's mind (or, more likely, had seen him looking at Otto's throat). "There was... The place where we were..."

"Hey, you don't have to tell me anything that you don't want to," Geoff said when Awsten trailed off. "I won't ask, but I'll be here to listen if you need or want to talk about anything."

"Why are you being so nice to us?" Awsten asked suddenly. "You don't even know us."

"Judging by your scars, it's about time _someone_ showed you kindness," Geoff answered softly. 

The silence that followed wasn't entirely uncomfortable, but it still made Geoff nervous.

"Are you two hungry? I can make you some food if you want."

Awsten and Otto both shook their heads. "We ate before we left, but it was a long flight..."

"Oh, uh, of course." Geoff stood up to lead them to the guest bedroom down the hallway. There was only one bed, but before he could offer up his own bedroom to one of them they climbed into bed together. Legs and arms were soon tangled up in a mess of scarred limbs, and Geoff watched as Awsten wrapped a soft wing around Otto to form a small cocoon of feathers to block both of them from view.

Geoff couldn't help smiling as he exited the room and closed the door behind him, ignoring the feeling that these two strange people seemed to belong in his house and in his life.

* * *

The next morning, before Awsten and Otto came out of the bedroom and after he had put a breakfast casserole in the oven, Geoff called Maxx.

"I'm guessing they made it to your house okay," was what Maxx said as soon as the call was picked up.

"Yeah, they did. Do you mind explaining who they are, or why they say they know you from where you supposedly work?"

"Look, I... I didn't mean to lie to you, but telling you the truth would have put you in danger, Geoff, and I couldn't handle it if anything happened to you."

"Well, it's a bit too late for that now, don't you think?"

He heard Maxx sigh, a small action that Geoff knew meant that he was right.

"I guess so. Look, I, uh... I work for a secret government lab. We do genetics testing, and-"

"Wait, so YOU'RE responsible for-"

"No! No, oh my God, no, I didn't work _on_ them. They've been there since they were kids, and from what I understand the scientists found a way to fuse human and bird DNA in the womb, so they've been like this since birth. I'm too low on the totem pole and I'm too young to have been involved in the project when it started, but I was responsible for caring for them and making sure they stayed alive. I didn't... I couldn't leave them there anymore, Geoff, I had to help them escape, even if I lost my job. They were about to..."

"... about to what?"

"... If I hadn't gotten them out of there when I did, they would have terminated the project."

"Oh. So-"

"They would have died, Geoff. Otto was already on thin ice as it was, but they only let him live this long because Awsten refused to cooperate if Otto wasn't with him. Their bodies were starting to fall behind, and they couldn't keep up with the testing that they were subjected to. They either would have died during "treatment", or the doctors would have executed them by hand. Either way, it didn't look good."

"..."

"So I'm asking you to _please_ watch out for them, at least for the next few days. I don't know when I'll be able to move them somewhere safer, but-"

"I already told them they could stay here, and I meant it. I just needed some explanation from you."

"Oh." Maxx was silent for a moment, but then he spoke up. "How are they doing?"

"They're still sleeping. They didn't eat last night, but I'm making them breakfast, so I'm hoping they'll eat when they wake up."

"They _do_ eat a lot, so be prepared for that. Something about burning calories faster than a normal human? I didn't really listen to that part of the speech."

"Right. Anything else I should know?"

"They need to fly regularly or else their wings will get sore and bother them. Don't let them out of the house until I call again, but when things have cooled down over here then let them out. Keep an eye on them when they do; they're used to flying in confined and heavily monitored spaces, but they can't go crazy while they're at your place, so make sure they don't get spotted while they're exercising. Other than that, they behave like normal humans, as far as I know. If anything medical happens, like if they get hurt or sick, _call me first_. Don't take them to a hospital unless I give the okay because there are some things that I _know_ a regular doctor is gonna notice."

"Geoff?" Geoff turned to see Awsten and Otto, huddled up close to each other and holding hands. Awsten's hair was sticking up at odd angles like he had slept on it weird, and Otto's hair kept falling into his face. Their feathers were still dirty and ruffled, but they looked more like they had been disturbed by odd sleeping positions than anything else.

"Who's that?" Awsten asked.

"It's Maxx," Geoff answered.

"Oh, are they awake? Let me talk to them," Maxx piped up. Geoff handed off the phone to Awsten, who then grabbed the phone and dragged Otto along with him into the living room. Geoff was left alone with the smell of eggs, bacon, and hash browns cooking in the oven and the taste of black coffee on his tongue.

It wasn't long before Awsten and Otto returned. Awsten handed Geoff his phone, and Geoff saw that either Awsten or Maxx had ended the call. Geoff didn't ask what they had talked about.

"I'm gonna take a guess and say that you're both hungry, yeah?"

* * *

The next few days were hectic, to say the least. It was like looking after two overgrown children, but Geoff could hardly blame them. Drawing on context clues that Maxx had given him, he guessed that Otto and Awsten had grown up in some kind of awful lab and hadn't gotten to experience things like television or baking or anything vaguely "domestic". Geoff had made the mistake of giving Awsten coffee the first day, and needless to say when day two dawned Geoff had to hide the coffee pot so Awsten couldn't find it. Geoff cooked for the three of them, but since he was used to cooking for one he generously overestimated how much food was needed and ended up with closer to nine portions than three. Thankfully, though, Awsten and Otto were more than happy to finish up the leftovers. They fell into an easy routine after about three days. Geoff was surprised by how well the three of them seemed to fit together. He grew accustomed to their habits, paid attention to what foods they liked and didn't like, and even picked up on how to interpret Otto's body language.

Geoff owned a small bakery down the road, but he had asked his co-owner, Ben, to take over for a few days with the excuse that his family had made a last-minute surprise visit, so he didn't need to leave the house to work. His entire day revolved around taking care of the boys, or teaching them how to care for themselves, and he would have felt bad if he had left them here on their own. He _did_ bring work home, sort of, when he decided to bake fresh bread. To his amusement, Awsten sat on the counter the entire time, watching him with rapt interest.

"Do you want to learn how to bake?" Geoff had asked, and Awsten's response had been to widen his eyes and ask if he was actually allowed to. The next few days were spent with the oven always on and the counter always covered in fresh pastries and sweets. Otto watched respectfully from a distance and was happy to taste-test anything Awsten created, but when Geoff asked if he wanted to learn he shook his head. Otto had no interest in baking, but he _did_ show interest in writing. Every time Geoff picked up a pen and paper Otto's attention zeroed in on him, and after about two days of Otto watching his hand move he sat the shorter man down at the kitchen table and started teaching him how to write. His attempts at writing were atrocious, and his handwriting wasn't any better, but once he started actually taking in the information it made his attempts to communicate with Geoff easier. Otto started carrying around one of Geoff's notebooks everywhere and would write things down and show the page to Geoff when he wanted to say something.

Maxx called about a week in, telling him that they still didn't have a safehouse sorted out but that it was probably safe enough for Awsten and Otto to start flying again. When Geoff told them the news they immediately raced for the front door, and before Geoff could run after them they had taken to the skies. All Geoff could do was stand on his front porch and watch as they flew, doing loops in the skies as Awsten's happy whooping and hollering reached his ears. This was the first time Geoff had seen them actually use their wings as anything but oversized blankets, and it was _beautiful_. Geoff almost wished he could be up there with them, just to share their excitement and pure joy. He had gotten used to seeing their wings, but sometimes he was hit with the same sense of amazement he had felt when he had first seen them. They really were gorgeous, and he wished that he could tell the guys that without making things weird.

When they touched back down to the ground, Awsten practically leaped into his arms to give Geoff a hug, and Otto joined in a few seconds later.

"I forgot how good that felt," Awsten muttered against Geoff's shoulder.

They were definitely warming up to him, and Geoff was glad. He only realized how guarded they had been around him the first few days when he began to see what they were like underneath the walls they had built. But even as the initial icy distrust thawed, he felt that there was something unspoken lurking in the waters below the ice. There was definitely something between Awsten and Otto; he had noticed it the first day, when they refused to be separated from the other. He had chalked it up to having lived through traumatic experiences together, but that theory was mostly dispelled when he saw Otto kiss Awsten on the cheek when they thought Geoff wasn't looking.

Geoff had to push away the thought, arriving in his brain nearly five days later, that he would have liked to be on the receiving end of that kiss. Or, hell, he also would have liked to have been on the _giving_ end, after seeing how Awsten had lit up under Otto's affection. It was as if that one single thought had been the crack in the dam, or some other cheesy metaphor, because after that he started thinking about what it would be like to hold their hands or run his hands over their wings. Those thoughts weren't entirely unfounded, though; he had caught both Awsten and Otto giving him once-overs, and Awsten seemed to find excuses to lay his hands on Geoff's arms or shoulders or thighs as much as he could. This lasted for days, and soon even Otto was comfortable enough to lay his head on Geoff's shoulder when they were watching movies.

The breaking point for Geoff came in the middle of the night. Geoff had stayed up later than he had intended playing on his Nintendo Switch, and his eyes were starting to close on their own. He started making his way towards the bedroom, but he paused when he saw a figure curled up outside of the guest bedroom door. Instantly he was on full alert, but he relaxed when he saw that it was just Otto.

"Otto?" 

Otto jumped when he heard Geoff's voice. When he lifted his head Geoff saw that Otto had been crying, if the red eyes and tear-stained cheeks were anything to go by.

"What's wrong?" Otto shook his head. Geoff took that to mean that he didn't want to address whatever was wrong.

"Is there anything I can do?" Otto nodded and patted the spot next to him on the ground. Geoff sat down next to him, and within a heartbeat, he had a bundle of boy and feathers in his arms. The warmth of Otto's skin shocked Geoff, partly because the interior of the house was a bit on the chilly side. Touching Otto was like holding a space heater. It took him a minute to get over his shock, but when he did he realized that Otto had started crying again. Geoff hugged him tighter against his chest, and they stayed like that until Otto reached out to grab the notebook that had been sitting next to him.

_Sorry_ , he wrote.

"You don't have to be sorry, Otto," Geoff reassured. Otto shook his head again and kept writing.

_I didn't want to wake Awsten up. He doesn't sleep very well, and I wanted him to stay asleep._

Geoff mutedly realized how far along his writing had progressed. His handwriting was still mostly illegible, but he had almost no mistakes in the composition of his letters. It wasn't the time to be impressed, though.

"He has trouble sleeping?"

Otto nodded. _He has nightmares, really bad ones. We both do._

"Oh."

_We try to be quiet because we don't want to wake you up at night_.

Now Geoff felt terrible. "You guys don't have to do that. I told you I'm here for you guys, and I meant it. You can wake me up whenever."

Otto smiled, weak and watery but still a smile, and wrote a small "thank you" before dropping the notebook and putting his head on Geoff's chest again. A few minutes later the door to the guest room opened and Awsten appeared, hair already messed up and looking bone tired.

"So that's where you went," he muttered. Before Geoff could stand up, Awsten moved to sit by Geoff's side.

"He has this stupid idea that he'll wake me up with his nightmares, but he can't make any sound, so I don't know what he's worried about."

Otto reached out to smack Awsten in the face, and Awsten and Geoff both laughed.

"Really, though. Thank you for being there for him— for both of us," Awsten said. He leaned in and kissed Geoff's cheek, and Geoff's reply to Awsten's sentence died in his throat. He soon shook himself out of his shock and realized that Otto had fallen asleep against his chest, and when he looked over at Awsten he saw that his eyes were also dangerously close to falling shut.

"Come on, let's get you guys back to bed." He carefully stood up, trying his best to keep his arms wrapped around Otto. Once he and Awsten were standing he walked them back into the guest room and gently placed Otto onto the mattress. As he was about to turn and leave, though, Awsten caught his hand.

"Can... Can you stay with us? In case we have more nightmares," the smaller boy asked. He seemed nervous about asking, and Geoff felt more nervous about saying yes. His heart was racing, beating in his throat so hard that he was sure Awsten could hear it pumping. He still agreed, though, and soon he was falling asleep surrounded by warmth and feathers with his arms around Awsten's shoulders and Otto's arm resting peacefully around his waist.

The realization dawned on him as soon as his eyes closed. He _liked_ them, both of them, and he was probably fucked.

* * *

By the time Maxx called again almost two weeks after the two boys had first arrived, Geoff had almost gone out of his mind. He had worn the "family visit" excuse thin, and Ben had been dropping hints about his returning to work. If he was being honest, Ben never sounded mad when he called, and Geoff didn't know if he was staying home to keep them safe or simply just to be around them, but he still kept up the lie about his family either way.

"How are they?"

"How come you never say 'hello' anymore?" Geoff joked. Maxx didn't respond. Geoff once again made sure that Awsten and Otto were still sleeping before he answered, just like he had on the first day. The only difference was that they had moved from the guest room to his bed, and he had had to worm his way out of the cuddle pile to answer Maxx's call.

"They're fine. They're definitely happier than when they first showed up, and they tell me their nightmares are getting better. Awsten knows how to bake now, and Otto can write."

"You... taught them stuff?"

"Yes? Was I not supposed to?"

"No, that's great! They didn't really form bonds with other individuals in the lab, besides me and Cody, and I'm glad that they're forming relationships and trusting you enough to be close to you."

"Yeah, I guess so."

There was a silence after that, marred only by a soft undertone of static. Geoff knew he should be asking about where they would be moved to, how long he had left with them, or what he should do to get them to safety, but part of him didn't want to do that. He didn't want to think about how empty the house would be with them gone, or if he would ever be able to see them again after Maxx came for them. On the other hand, he _also_ knew that Maxx should be giving him instructions, locations and times and stuff for him to drop off Awsten and Otto so they could be moved, and yet his friend was remaining suspiciously silent.

Eventually, Maxx broke the silence by saying "Ben told me you haven't been coming in to work for the past two weeks."

"I took some time off to take care of the boys. I didn't want to leave them alone until I knew they were safe. How do you know Ben?"

"We grew up together, but that's a story for another time. Geoff, you could have gone to work. If you had told them to stay inside and not be seen they would have been fine."

"I didn't want to risk it. I was only planning on staying home with them until you came and got them, though."

"Seems to me like they're safer with you than they will be at any safehouse."

To say that Maxx's words shocked him was an understatement. "What are you saying?"

"I'm _asking_ if you'd like to stay with them and have them live with you full-time. Obviously, you can say no, but-"

"No! I mean, yes! Yes, I'd... I'd like that."

Maxx was silent, which was always suspicious with Maxx. "You were awfully quick to answer that. How are things between you three?"

"Uhh..."

"Geoff?"

"Define 'between you three'. Like, between all of us, or between them as a group and me as a third wheel, or-"

"GEOFF! Have you- Are you _in love_ with them?!"

"No! No, not... not _really_ , but-"

"Geoffery Wigington, I am shocked at you!"

"My name isn't-"

"I am _definitely_ letting them live with you, then! Oh my _God_ , it's about fucking TIME you showed some romantic interest in someone! I was sure I was going to attend your funeral before I ever got to see your wedding!"

"Maxx, we're not getting fucking married! It's not a big deal, we just sleep in the same bed-"

"WHAT?!"

"-because they told me I make them feel safer and their nightmares don't happen as often when I'm around! It's not like-"

"I swear if you say it's not like they like you or anything I will fly there and skin you alive. I'll call you again later."

"Wait, wh-"

His words were only heard by the dial tone ringing in his ear. Geoff groaned, putting his phone on the counter and turning around to find Awsten and Otto standing in the hallway.

"Oh, uh... I didn't hear you guys wake up."

"Why were you talking about getting married?" Awsten asked. _Wow, right to the point, I guess_.

"It was just Maxx joking around. Don't worry about it."

"Wait, Maxx called?" When Geoff nodded, Awsten's teasing smile fell. "Did he tell you where we were going?"

"Actually, uh, he said you guys are staying here."

"For how much longer?"

"Uh, forever? Or at least until you guys get sick of me and want to leave. I guess I should have asked you before I agreed to let you guys live here, and I'm-"

"Geoff." Geoff closed his mouth, and Awsten smiled. "Please don't take this the wrong way, but you're an idiot."

"I... I'm sorry?"

Awsten laughed, and Otto's smile told Geoff that if he could laugh he would have. Geoff nervously laughed along, but he was cut off when Awsten leaned in and kissed him. It was a short kiss, sweet and tentative and tasting of bread and sugar. Geoff didn't have time to say anything after Awsten pulled away because Otto leaned in and kissed him as soon as Awsten's lips were out of the way. His kiss was more forceful, and it tasted like the chocolate milk Geoff had started buying for him.

"Oh."

"You're an idiot," Awsten repeated. "I thought you had figured it out when we let you sleep in the same bed as us. We... You make us feel safe. We both really like you, and that's not just because we're imprinting on you or anything because you're one of the only people who are nice to us. Like, Cody was nice to us, but we don't want to kiss him or anything, and Dan was nice, and Zach, and there were a lot of other nice people at the lab, but you're different, and you're also kind of cute and you don't get mad at us for messing up or accidentally breaking your bowls and stuff and-"

Geoff decided he could deal with the rambling if he got to see Awsten blush more often. His wings were twitching as he talked, probably out of nervousness or something similar, and Otto's were fluttering with excitement. As Geoff watched, a feather fell to the ground, and Geoff noticed that their wings were starting to get dirty again. They had used his shower to clean them up a week ago, but now that they were flying regularly again their wings had accumulated more dirt and grime. He remembered that Awsten had said something about wing grooming acting as a form of trust between Otto and him; one party trusted the other enough to turn their back and expose themselves, and the other person returned the trust when it was their turn. So, when Awsten was done talking, Geoff bent down to pick up the feather and examine it before he spoke up.

"How about you guys teach me how to clean your wings? It's about time I learn something from you for a change."


End file.
